HEROES OF THE 1920'sBY DEREK KOCSIS AND EDWARD JOHNSON

SPORTS HEROES

BABE RUTH

Who Was He?

Babe Ruth was a famous baseball player who was famous for his impressive home run hits. He was born in 1895 in Maryland and died in 1948 in New York.

What Did He Do?

Babe Ruth played baseball for three teams; The Boston Red Sox, The Yankees, and The Boston Braves. He had a knack for hitting home runs and getting the crowd excited.

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Why Did People Love Him?

They loved him because he was really great at hitting home runs and was a role model for young, aspiring baseball players. He hit a total of 714 home runs in his career!

3 Facts About Him

1. He was one of the first five players to be inducted in the Sports Hall of Fame.

2. He was a trouble maker as a kid, and learned how to play Baseball at an orphanage.

3. His main goal was to be the manager of a major league team, but he never got to be one.

JOE LOUIS

Who Was He?

Joe Louis was a boxer in the late 1930's who was the heavy- weight champion from 1937 to 1949. He was born in 1914 in Alabama and died in 1981 in Nevada.

What Did He Do?

Louis fought his way to the top and became the heavy- weight champion.

Why Did People Love Him?

They love him because he was a great role model for young African Americans at the time. Segregation and racism was high at this point, so he helped fight it.

3 Facts About Him

1. He got the nickname, the "Brown Bomber," when he defeated Max Scheming in 1938.

2. He might actually be the inspiration for the character Doc Louis, Little Mac's trainer, in one of Nintendo's video game series, Punch Out.

"Dance like a fly, and bite like a mosquito."

3. He kept his title as heavy- weight champion for twelve years!

GERTRUDE EDERLE

Who Was She?

Gertrude Ederle was a female swimmer in the 1920's who was the first woman who swam across the English Channel. She was born in 1905 in New York and died in 2003 at the age of 98 in New Jersey.

What Did She Do?

She was an Olympic Swimmer, and when she swam across the English Channel, she broke the male record for it!

Why Did People Love Her?

They loved her because she was a great role model for women and girls, as shown by her beating the male record.

3 Facts About Her

1. In her first attempt to swim through the English channel, she actually got disqualified from a technicality.

2. Her nickname was the "Queen of the Waves," and was about as popular as Charles Lindbergh and Babe Ruth.

3. Ederle got to visit the White House, and got some recognition from president Calvin Coolidge.

HEROES OF FLIGHT: CHARLES LINDBERGH

Who Was He?

Charles Lindbergh was a famous pilot who flew a transatlantic journey all by himself! He was born 1902 in Michigan and died in 1974 in Hawaii.

What Did He Do?

Lindbergh was the first pilot to fly a transatlantic journey solo. This happened in 1927.

Why Did People Love Him?

People loved him because it was a really big accomplishment to fly across the Atlantic Ocean by yourself, so that made him a pretty big role model.

3 Facts About Him

1. He wasn't actually the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Other pilots had done it, but they flew with more people, making Lindbergh's journey impressive because he did it alone.

2. He created an artificial heart. It was for surgeon Alexis Carrel, who researched keeping organs alive while not in the body. The heart pumped nutrients necessary to organ tissues.

3. While in Germany, a Nazi official gave Lindbergh a German medal of honor. This outraged a lot of Americans.

Lindbergh's airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis.

JAZZ MUSICIAN: DUKE ELLINGTON

Who Was He?

Duke Ellington was a jazz musician and pianist who lead a jazz orchestra until his death. The band's name changed several times, but was settled on Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra in 1927. He was born in 1899 in Washington DC and died in 1974 in New York.

What Did He Do?

Ellington pretty much invented big band jazz, writing tons of songs for his orchestra. He wrote his first song, Soda Fountain Rag, when he was 15!

Why Did People Love Him?

People liked him because Jazz was the popular form of music in the 1920's, and Ellington perfected it. Audiences were amazed by his blending of melodies and little sonic movements.

3 Facts About Him

1. He started playing Piano when he was seven years old and denied a scholarship from Pratt Institute to be a professional performer at 17.

2. His career as a musician lasted over 50 years! He even wrote songs for a contemporary songbook.

3. Starting in 1959, Ellington earned nine Grammy Awards, then three more after he died.

Duke and his band.

MODERN EXAMPLES OF HEROES

BILL GATES

Who Is He?

Bill Gates is the founder of Microsoft, a company that makes Windows computers. He was born on October 28th, 1955, just three days after Marty Mcfly got sent back to 1955.

What Did He Do?

Bill Gates helped make Windows computers, which were more affordable than Apple computers. He is also one of the richest people in the world, but he donates lots of his money.

Why Do People Love Him?

People really admire Bill Gates because he and his wife donate tons of their money to help good causes. They've donated over $20 billion to their charity foundation!

3 Facts About Him

1. Gates has actually been arrested twice for road issues, both in the 1970's.

2. When he was coding as a young adult, he may have messed with some of his school's scheduling system so that he'd be in classes with lots of "interesting girls."

3. He never learned any foreign languages, which he now regrets.

An old Windows 95 computer.

STEPHEN HAWKING

Who Is He?

Stephen Hawking is a scientist who has written many science books and has an estimated IQ of around 160. Hawking is paralyzed from ALS, a disease in the neurons. He was born in 1942 in the United Kingdom.

What Did He Do?

Stephen Hawking has made huge contributions to scientific fields, including cosmology and general relativity.

Why Do People Love Him?

People admire Stephen Hawking because he is a very intelligent person with a really powerful mind. He shows that physical issues shouldn't hold you back. He's helped expand upon tough topics in science, like dark matter and wormholes. Hawking is a good role model.

3 Facts About Him

1. There was a movie made of him in 2014 called Theory of Everything.

2. He was actually a mostly average student in school, only learning how to properly read at the age of 8.

3. Hawking appeared on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, playing cards with Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.